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MEMA 40 - summary minutes

Published 21 October 2021
June 2021

Authority members or their nominees in attendance were:

  • Chair, Marine Estate Management Authority (Dr Russell Reichelt AO FTSE)
  • Chair, Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel
  • Deputy Secretary, Biodiversity, Conservation and Science, Department Planning, Industry and Environment
  • Deputy Director General, Department of Primary Industries Fisheries
  • Executive Director, Centres for Road and Maritime Safety
  • Executive Director, State Policy and Strategic Advice, Department Planning, Industry and Environment – Planning and Assessment

The Authority considered a range of matters at the meeting including those summarised below.

Marine Estate Management Strategy

The Authority noted out of session, in May 2021, the progress on implementation of the Marine Estate Management Strategy(Strategy) and endorsed the quarterly report for the period ending 31 March 2021. Progress and risks were noted on over 100+ projects being delivered across the marine estate. Significant achievements for the January to March 2021 quarter are outlined in the Strategy Snapshot – year 3, quarter 3 report.

Significant work has been achieved this quarter across the nine initiatives.

Key achievements include:

  • The Marine litter campaign was launched this quarter. The campaign aims to encourage people to reduce litter to minimise the impact on land, marine life and the marine estate.
  • On-ground works this quarter achieved significant riverbank and vegetation improvements. 21 landholder agreements secured, over 1600 trees planted, over 3.9 hectares of bush regeneration along over 1.8 km work completed including protective fencing. Maintenance work of over 33 km of riverbank vegetation was conducted and over 13 km of stream bank protected.
  • The Elders as Mentors project was launched with an on-Country collaboration day at Batemans and Jervis Bay marine parks. Approximately 50 Elders were in attendance across the two events.
  • A training day for large whale disentanglement and general marine wildlife event was held, enabling improved response to wildlife incidents.
  • An updated Boating Handbook was published to make boating rules and regulations clearer for boaters.
  • The Community Wellbeing Framework project has completed the NSW coastal residents and visitors’ surveys with over 3300 participants.
  • A range of new project profile pages were uploaded on the Marine Strategy Implementation web page to improve sharing of project implementation updates with marine estate stakeholders.
  • Better geographic information systems (GIS) project saw field surveys of remnant oyster reef mapping completed for Botany Bay and Georges River. In addition, the Department of Primary Industries Key Fish Habitat dataset was made available for public download through the Fisheries Spatial Data Portal. This project also collated bathymetry and processed newly acquired data to inform the Offshore Artificial Reefs project (southern region).

Details on the full set of projects underway are outlined in the Strategy Implementation Plan.

Marine Integrated Monitoring Program

Work on the Marine Integrated Monitoring Program (MIMP) continues. The first formal two-year program evaluation outlined in the MIMP Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (Framework) is almost complete, in consultation with consultants. The Framework is available on the marine estate website.

Consultants have also been engaged to assist with research design and implementation of social surveys to inform community wellbeing monitoring associated with the NSW marine estate. Engagement with coastal residents, visitors, Aboriginal communities and marine estate agency staff is a major component of these surveys, due to be completed late-2021.

A workshop to discuss the requirements of the marine estate Threat and Risk Assessment five-year review will be undertaken in late June with key stakeholders including members of the Knowledge Panel.

Work continues on prioritising and filling key knowledge gaps, in cooperation with our partners.

Marine park management planning

A new approach to management planning for NSW marine parks continues in accordance with the requirements of the Marine Estate Management Act 2014. For the first time planning will identify the environmental, social, cultural and economic values to be managed in marine parks, identify the threats to those values and outline management objectives and actions to conserve the values and reduce the threats over a 10-year timeframe.

A draft management plan for the mainland marine park network has been developed with comprehensive feedback provided by the five mainland marine park advisory committees, ten government agencies and the Knowledge Panel.

The draft network management plan, draft communications and engagement strategy and submission review process will be shared with relevant Ministers for consideration in June 2021.

Next meeting

The next meeting of the Authority is scheduled for September 2021.